Let's Make A Deal! What Players Can The Cubs Acquire From The Mets?

[Jacob Zanolla]

As we get closer to July, the trade deadline is becoming more of a conversation around baseball. While many teams are still in the hunt, clearly, a few teams are going to be sellers come late July. One of those teams is the New York Mets, who are currently in fourth place in the NL East, eight games under .500. It may not be known if the Cubs will be buying or not, but let’s assume that the team is able to turn things around, and Jed Hoyer does decide to add before making a playoff push. Whom should the Cubs target?

Image courtesy of © Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The first player I want to discuss is Pete Alonso. The Cubs were connected to Alonso this past offseason, but it seems like the Mets didn’t really want to trade him at that juncture. Jeff Passan reported in his Early Trade Deadline Preview that multiple executives around baseball expect him to be traded, mainly due to his large contract. The Mets would only receive a fourth-round pick from the qualifying offer if they keep him, leading me to also agree that moving him seems like the most logical option. The Cubs may have Michael Busch at first base right now, but that can easily change. Alonso can always be put into the DH spot, or Busch can be placed there. Busch can play second or third as well, although he isn’t as comfortable there.

Alonso is a known power hitter, which the Cubs could really use this year. Right now, the team ranks 20th in team slugging percentage, and they're tied for 17th in home runs. While power isn’t everything in today’s version of baseball, it definitely can help you win more ball games. The top three teams in slugging percentage and home runs are the same three teams: The Baltimore Orioles are first, followed by the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. These three teams are a combined 59 games over .500, so yeah, power helps.

The sturdily-built Alonso has a 130 wRC+ this year, and has already hit 14 home runs. He would have the most home runs on the Cubs as of now, as well as the highest wRC+. While he may be expensive prospect-wise, I don’t think it would require an insane package to bring Alonso to Chicago. It frees up money for the Mets, and at least gets them something before he goes to the open market. Jon Heyman went on 670 the Score Monday morning and said he believes Alonso is a “logical” and realistic trade target for the Cubs, falling in line with the belief of many analysts in the Cubs community. Then again, of course, the team has to play much better in order to be suitors for Alonso types at all.

Another player whom I think the Cubs should look into is JD Martinez. This wouldn’t be a package deal, but if Hoyer thinks Alonso is too expensive, pivoting to Martinez could be beneficial. Martinez is someone whom I was hoping the Cubs would acquire this past offseason, but he waited it out before signing near the end of March. The Cubs are currently just rotating who is in the DH spot, which is a popular solution these days. However, as I said before, this lineup needs more power. He shouldn’t be a top target, but more of a backup option if other players don’t work out. Martinez hits for a higher average than Alonso, but still has a slugging of .444. This is under his career performance, but the underlying numbers help show that he’s getting unlucky. His expected slugging is .497, 53 points higher than his actual slugging. His Barrel% of 16.3% is in the 95th percentile, with an average exit velocity of 91.1 miles per hour. He’s also a veteran, and has been playing in the majors for over a decade. Having his leadership would be awesome for young power hitters, like Christopher Morel.

The Mets aren’t the only option to acquire legit talent, but considering where they sit right now, it sure seems like they may be one of the best teams to offer fits for the Cubs' needs.

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[Billy62]

     I hear the talk of adding offense to this club, which is understandable due to the fact that this team has been struggling to score runs for a bit now. But the glaring inadequacy of the bullpen raised its ugly head yesterday in Tampa. Taillon and company did a good job of getting the lead into the 9th inning. But once there, Neris came in and threw gasoline on the fire. The Cubs game into the inning leading 2-1, and came out losing 5-2. If this was something unusual it could be written off as a couple of lucky hits and you could resign yourself to the fact that this is all part of the game. But its not. This is the 4th or 5th blown lead in the late innings that I can remember. This team is not good enough to be giving away ballgames and expecting to be in the hunt come October. To put it bluntly, the back end of the bullpen is not cutting it. A solid closer is needed. This is where most of our attention should be focused. So, any trades should made with this in mind.

Edited June 12, 2024 by Billy62
missed word

[jersey cubs fan]